The Zero Hour
by LoveforPenandDerek
Summary: When Emily Prentiss fears her life could end any day now she goes to a friend for comfort- and one last night to really live.
1. Chapter 1

**Note- **This story immediately follows the season six episode "The Thirteenth Step."

The Zero Hour

Reid and Prentiss

January 2011

_No matter what I do, he's going to hunt me down and kill me. I'm a dead woman._

Her heart raced, her head filled with memories and fears, as she jumped into her car and quickly drove away from the restaurant. Her eyes darted to the mirror often, trying to tell if she was being followed.

Emily Prentiss was not known to give into irrational worries or cower in any situation. She was strong, too independent for her own good, able to fight her own battles and never burden anyone else with her pain. But this night she wasn't thinking clearly. Tonight she wasn't strong, sure, ready to fight.

The past that she thought was dead and buried was coming back to swallow her whole. She had just been informed by Sean that Ian Doyle had escaped prison and was off the grid. A man who wouldn't rest till he got his revenge on her. This meant she would be looking over her shoulder every second till he was caught...or till he caught up with her.

A shiver shot down her spine. She pulled a U-turn and sped, on instinct, away from her own apartment building to a quieter neighborhood in DC. A smaller, brick building that was pre-war era. It was nearly ten pm. They had gotten back from their latest case four hours before. It was doubtful that he would be sleeping yet.

But he sure wouldn't expect her to show up at his door.

XXXXXXXXX

He wasn't expecting company so the frantic pounding on his apartment door took him by the surprise. Spencer Reid was sitting in a leather back chair, laptop perched on his lap, playing online poker. He set aside the computer and hurried to the door.

After looking through the peep hole he quickly disabled the alarm, turned the locks and pulled the door open. She stood there, with her brown eyes wide and filled with some unnamed yet worrisome emotions, her hair slightly a mess (as if she had been running her fingers through it repeatedly), and visibly shivering.

He couldn't remember ever seeing her look so freaked out before. And she had never stopped by his place uninvited either.

"Emily, what's the matter?"

Her mouth opened and closed, as if she didn't know how to explain it, and then a second later she was all over him. She grabbed his face in her slightly chilled hands, her clothes a little damp from the falling snow outside, smashed herself against his body, so hard that he stumbled back a step, while her lips crashed against his lips.

Though Reid was shocked by her actions there was still something pleasant about a warm body pressed against his, her hands sliding down his cheeks, over his jaw and throat, against his shirt, fingers twisting the fabric. She tasted like coffee, mints and something else undefined but sweeter.

After a quick moment he jerked back, eyebrow arched. "Emily?"

In her eyes wasn't desire as much as stark, desperate need. "I didn't come here to talk."

She stretched up to try and capture his lips again but he jerked back slightly, evading her mouth though not breaking the contact of their bodies.

"Its feels like you need to."

"I know what I need." Her eyes searched his.

He was at a loss for why she wanted this. What had happened to make her scared and hurting, needy, willing to come to his door and ask for comfort and something that would make everything from now on messy between them?

Spencer Reid was the type of man who hated not understanding something- and often the thing he could not understand most was women. He perfectly understood loneliness and aching for someone to be there to hold you when everything turned scary and painful. There were many times he had felt that particular empty way in his life- especially lately.

Still he didn't know why Emily would pick him to come and see when she felt this way. She never had done this before. Never shown him this much vulnerability, clung to him as if he could save her from some unknown devil nipping at her heels. She was always so strong, even during the worse of times, that he hadn't imagined that she'd let down her walls and admit she couldn't do it all alone. And if she did, he hadn't thought it would be him that she would reach out to.

But she was. That was exactly what she was doing. Even if he wasn't good with women he could see that plain as day. She reached up and very gently, with just her fingertips, brushed his cheek. Her voice was choked when she asked "Please?"

There were so many reasons why he should say no. Their friendship, their jobs, her pain was clouding her judgement, but instead of saying anything he simply closed his eyes and let out a short breath. He could feel how stiff her body was against his, feel her pain and hurt, feel her need. And he was helpless to resist it, though he felt he should.

He would do anything he could to help Emily and the thing she needed most tonight was this. It wasn't about if it was right or wrong, or what may happen tomorrow, what consequence there would be to bear later. It was simply a matter of him not being able to send her back into the cold, dark, lonely night- because if he ever came to someone like she had come to him tonight that is the last thing Spencer would have wanted to have happen to him.

The moment he made up his mind all he could think about was that he was a second away from tasting her again. His eyes fluttered open, met hers for a brief second and then he dipped his head and took her lips in a kiss full of a sureness he hadn't felt until right then.

When Spencer Reid went in, he went all in.


	2. Chapter 2

Note-This chapter is sexy but I'm attempting to stay in the T rating. Still there is a warning for younger readers that this chapter contains a love scene and adult language.

The Zero Hour

Reid and Prentiss

January 2011

Chapter Two

In that uncertain interlude between when she had first kissed him- throwing herself on him just after he had opened his door- and the moment when his head dipped and he had kissed her for a second time, Emily Prentiss had feared she was about to be rejected.

How foolish and ridiculous she would have felt if Reid had sent her away.

Tonight she was moving on pure adrenaline. Jacked up on fear, thinking of the past and a man with a vendetta against her. Ian Doyle wanted her dead at all costs. As much as she knew about stopping killers it still might not be enough to save her own life.

Right at this moment she was still alive though. She could still fear, still touch, still need, still tenderly give, greedily take, kiss a man she never had before. She could still feel and, my God, was she on overload with new, amazing sensations at the moment.

Spencer Reid kissed with a tenderness but also confidence, as if he was leading her, rather than being led. Small, soft exploratory kisses led to longer, deeper, wetter ones as she jerked out of her coat, barely breaking away from him for a second, and he pushed closed the door, before they fell into each other's arms again, getting lost in this new agreement between them that they could have this, have each other- at least for tonight.

She needed this so desperately. To be out of control. To feel completely alive. To get lost in a heart pounding moment so intense that it muted her fears and worries, filled her with hot, throbbing desire to replace all the cold numbness that had invaded her the moment she realized that a killer was coming for her.

She needed him- needed Reid more than anyone else tonight- and he was giving her all that she needed.

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Damn, could she kiss.

Emily kissed with a passion unrestrained. Whereas Reid was firm, quiet and focused, she was wild, loud and sensual. She tugged on his hair, moaned into his mouth, jerked his shirt out of his pants with a rough tug.

Yet she didn't try to take the lead. And he was glad for that.

Spencer might not have as much experience as most men his age but when he had sex he did it ardently, almost as if he had something to prove to his partner and himself about how he wasn't in over his head.

But, good God, was he _ever_ in over his head tonight. Emily's kisses were intoxicating. He needed another and another, barely pausing to gasp in a shaky breath between them, and her hands were everywhere on him. Before he knew it half his clothes were off and so were hers.

He lifted her up and quickly pressed her against his door. She let out a gasp, her face flushed, when her back hit the wood. He nipped at her shoulder and collarbone, one arm wrapped around her waist, and then closed his hand over her ripe, pert breast. He kissed up to her ear, nibbled the lobe and then licked gently at the soft fleshy spot underneath it, dragging mewing sounds out of her.

If he was going to do this, then he was going to make sure that she enjoyed it. He was going to worship her body and give her all the tenderness that she was craving. This gorgeous woman seemed to believe he was the man that could give her the comfort and stress release that she needed right now and he intended to prove her right.

Reid was a big time over achiever so his aim was to go way above and beyond what she was expecting. To be a very attentive and giving lover. With Emily, he found that he was enjoying sex in a way that he hadn't in quite a long time.

He'd never been with a woman so damn sexy before.

What was Emily Prentiss doing to his life? Once was not going to be enough but since he didn't know if they had more than tonight to be together like this- if she'd want more, if it would be wise- he would just have to make tonight last as long as he could.

XXXXXXXXX

She was surprised by how strong he was, how he controlled things.

He lifted her away from the door, their lips joined, turned them around and set her down again. Kissing more, eager to discover every hidden crevice of each other's mouths, their lips stayed joined as they started to stumble towards the bedroom, her hands frantically working to strip him of his belt all the while.

Soon her knees hit the bed and she went down, propped on her elbows. He lifted her foot and removed each shoe, as she watched him intently. There was something so much more intense about him tonight than she had ever seen before. An intimacy swirled around them, convincing her this wasn't a mistake.

Emily had the feeling that she could back out at any time and he wouldn't get pissed, and yet he knew and she knew that neither of them were backing out tonight.

As his hands moved to her pants she lifted her hips and he stripped her of them. Moving back up her body his mouth closed around her breast. She cried out in pleasure, grasping at his back, digging her nails into his skin.

When his mouth moved down, kissing along her ribs and stomach, he quietly joked, as his hands spread her legs, "Would you like to know the percentage of woman who can only climax from clitoral stimulation?"

Laughter bubbled deep in her as she chuckled, throwing back her head. "Shut up with that."

He obliged her. They had plenty to keep them busy without talking about statistics.


	3. Chapter 3

The Zero Hour

Reid and Prentiss

January 2011

Note- This is a T rated story but it does deal with sex. For those of you who love M rated stories (as I do) I'll try and write one for this couple eventually (which means when the muse comes up with an idea). Thank you for reading! I'm having a lot of computer problems lately so if this story is not updated frequently then that is why.

Chapter Three

She straddled his lap, her feet wrapped around his back as he sat up.

Breathing heavily, they disentangled themselves. They ended up laying with their heads at different ends of the beg, bodies flushed and coming down from their mutual highs.

In a deep, sexy tone she told him "Dr. Reid, that was quite the nice surprise."

"Technically, you surprised me first tonight."

"Right," she agreed, her tone turning a little weary, as she thought about what had driven her to need comfort: a killer was gunning for her. Her days could be severely numbered.

Feeling exposed, with reality rushing back in like a lightening bolt, she grabbed for a sheet and wiggled around to cover herself before sitting up.

Reid moved off the bed, dealing with the condom, slipped on his boxers and then came and sat back down, staring intently at her.

She shrugged one shoulder. "What? It just a little sex between consensual adults. Lets not overanalyze this."

He stared into her eyes for another long moment before asking "Where did you go when you left work tonight?"

She flopped back on the bed and pulled the sheet over her head, groaning loudly. "Oh God! You're profiling me!" in a very over dramatic way.

He gently tugged back down the sheet, finding her hair a mess over her face. He brushed her hair away.

Reid told her "Talking about it surely will make you feel better than random sex."

"Ha! Doubtful. Very doubtful." She sat back up and raised her hand to rest it against his shoulder. "Seriously, though, thank you for not kicking me out when I pushed my way in here earlier. I appreciate the support." Slowly she moved in close to kiss him, her lips barely hovering against his. "And you're right, something did go down earlier, but I just don't feel like getting into it...okay?" Her words were low, throaty, whispered.

He swallowed hard. "O...Okay," he whispered back before taking her lips in another heady, sensual, tongue tangling kiss.

After they broke apart she slipped off the bed and started to gather her clothes. Silently she dressed, grabbed her shoes and headed for the living room to get the rest of her discarded clothes. Spencer grabbed a robe, slipped it on with some slippers, and followed her.

She smirked when she saw him, as she was about to slip on her coat, "Silk? Oh, Dr. Reid, you do have a whole side to you that I never knew existed before tonight."

"I prefer silk to cotton against my skin. Did you know that the shimmering appearance of silk is due to the triangular prism structure of this fabric which allows light to refract at different angles, producing different colors? Silk was originally reserved only for the kings in China, as early as 3500 BC. They tried to keep it to themselves but eventually it reached all over Asia and then the world. Its produced by two types of worms- the cultured Bombycidae and the wild Saturniidae-"

She pressed her fingers to his lips. "All I said was nice robe. I didn't ask for the history of how it got made."

"Just trying to make conversation."

"Well don't," she joked, dryly, before moving close for one last kiss.

She looked up and into his eyes. Tonight they had an experience that would forge a deeper bond between them. He had been there for her when she was terrified, lonely and needy. The way he treated her with kindness, made her weep as they had sex in a intimate position of both sitting up, had been all she needed and so much more.

Reid cupped her face, taking control of the moment, and kissed her deeply, making her feel it down in her gut, spreading new fire through her. She moaned as she reluctantly broke free and stumbled backwards, towards the door, reaching behind her to open it.

"Good night, Dr. Reid," she purred at him before leaving his place.

Emily made it to the stairs before she paused, leaned against the wall, and tried to gather her thoughts about all that had occurred this evening. She had learned from her old associate Sean that deranged killer Ian Doyle had escaped prison. He was off the grid but Sean felt he was on his way to the United States to settle some old scores. How long would it be before he caught up to Emily? Would she survive it when he did?

Should she tell the team about this? Should she had told Spencer just now? Maybe asked to spend the night with him so she'd be safer? Had tonight been a mistake? If she did get killed would Spencer now feel the pain even deeper because of all they had just shared?

Would she live long enough to ever kiss him again? Did he want to kiss her again? Thinking about how good they had been together between the sheets she tried to console herself with the idea that he surely would let her in another time if she showed up on his doorstep. But for the rest of tonight, due to her stupid independent ways, she was stuck on her own.

Emily slowly headed down the stairs, on full alert for any danger that may be lurking in the shadows.

XXXXXXXXX

At different moments during the next case Emily found herself staring at Reid intently, remembering their night together and how tender, yet strong and sure, he had been. She could use more of that in her life. Sometimes she felt like she was practically on her own in the world.

Of course she had her family and other friends but, at the end of the day, she was still going home to an empty bed each night. No one to lean on. Not that she was the type to lean on anyone anyway. That was probably her problem. Now that she knew Ian Doyle was out there somewhere lurking she really should lean on the team to maybe help her track that psycho down before he tracked her down.

But so far she hadn't said a peep to anyone about him.

That evening, when they returned to Quantico, she stuck around her desk late into the night, finding paperwork to keep her busy long after when she'd normally go home. Reid stayed at his desk too. They worked in companionable silence. Over the days that they were out of town on this last case they hadn't spoken at all about what had happened but to her it seemed that they were still cool with each other.

Reid closed up his paperwork and stuck it in his drawer. "I have a guest room."

She arched an eyebrow. "Are you asking me to stay in your guest room? Why would I need to do that?" She faked a smile. "I do have an apartment all of my own."

"You're nervous to be alone right now."

"Ugh, I hate when you profile me. Let me tell you something, fyi, women don't like when you tell them how they are feeling, especially since men don't hardly ever guess right."

"But that is how you're feeling. Its not a guess but a qualified observation. You've been jumpy every evening when we broke for the night and you knew you were going to have to be alone in a hotel room and you've been looking over your shoulder whenever you're outside anywhere. You don't need to confirm or deny it, because I already know what I know and we both know I'm rarely wrong, so if you want to use my guest room its available."

"That's sweet but I'm fine." She stood up, grabbing her coat and purse off the back of the chair quickly, and headed for the door. "Evening, Dr. Reid."

He gave her a concerned look.

She smiled. "Seriously, I'm perfectly fine! You worry too much. Its not good for your health." She left him there with a worried look on his face, despite her words of assurance that she was okay. It had sounded fake to her own ears so she knew he didn't buy it for a second.


	4. Chapter 4

**Note- Thank you for reading and reviewing this story.**

**The Zero Hour**

**Chapter Four**

Emily woke up in a cold sweat, memories of her case that involved Ian Doyle had been haunting her nightmares. Breathing hard, her eyes searched the room and listened for any sound that could be someone in her apartment. Throwing off the covers she made her way to the bathroom. In the morning she would call Sean and see if there was any more news about the whereabouts of Ian Doyle because she couldn't stand living this way.

Knowing that someone was more than likely out to kill her made her rethink her whole life, the emptiness of not being married or having kids seemed worse suddenly. She wanted something more in her life. Maybe not marriage anytime soon or even a child but just more than her job and a social life that she could barely get around to because of her work.

Emily ached for love. For a man to look at her like she was making his life so much better. The reason she had went to Spencer that night was because, out of all the men in her life, she felt most like she would be comfortable with him when she was hurting. He would understand her pain.

It also didn't hurt that she'd always had a little fascination with the nerdy genius. A nerd at heart herself she felt a kinship with him, found him strange at times but sexy and mysterious, enjoyed teasing him and imagining that one day she'd just plant a kiss on him to see his reaction. Though she wouldn't say she was harboring deep feelings for him beyond friendship she could admit that, of all the men on the team, he was the only who she ever fantasized about hooking up with.

And, lets face it, the men on her team were the men in her life that she was closest to. All other men just didn't get it- get her and what it was like to live her lifestyle- even if they worked in the FBI too. There was something about the team that made their whole lives, even outside work, intertwine around each other socially and emotionally. They needed each other to stay sane.

She needed Spencer lately more than she ever had before.

Emily had the feeling, just like she felt the night she went to him for sex, that if she asked him to help her out then he would do so but her independence warred with her need and kept her from reaching out to him- leaving her shaking in the shower as she listened for unfamiliar sounds in her apartment, the sound of a killer coming to try to steal away all her chances to have more in this life.

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Spencer Reid was a worrier, by nature. He worried about his health, his career, how people looked at him, his mother's sanity and happiness, his friends, his accomplishments and his lousy love life. So naturally he had worried that sleeping with Emily would make things weird between them from now on.

That hadn't happened in the more than a week since they had been together but that didn't mean he wasn't still worried. He was sure that something had her freaked out, possibly that she was being stalked. Her behavior was indicative of it.

That night, while they were in Detroit on a case, they were walking from the SUV towards the hotel when she quickly spun around, as if she heard someone sneaking up on her.

Morgan asked "What?" with an eyebrow cocked.

She shook her head, wearily. "This case is just creeping me out." Hurrying past them she hitched her go back higher on her shoulder and disappeared into the hotel.

Morgan looked at Reid. "Is it me or is she seriously jumpy lately? Wonder what her problem is?"

Reid just shook his head, in a way that silently said "Who knows," and then went into the hotel.

After going to his room he unpacked his suitcase and then left his room again, ending up at Emily's hotel door, which was very unusual for him to do ever. He certainly never visited her room for anything not work related before.

He rapped on the door and heard her come close to the door to look out the peephole. He gave her a wave. She opened the door. As she did, she shoved her gun back in her holster.

Trying to act like she wasn't tense she smiled at him and asked "To what do I owe this honor?"

He was holding a portable chess set in one hand. He nodded at it. "Thought you might be up for a game."

"Aren't you wiped out? Its been a long day."

He raised his eyebrows in unison. "No, not in the least."

She moved aside and he walked in. Emily said "All right but I want a handicap."

"For being a girl?"

She playfully kicked his leg. "You'll pay for that crack one day when you least expect it."

Reid smiled slightly, as he set the chess game up on the table. "I don't give handicaps in chess. It discourages learning and striving for excellence."

"I was just joking. Besides, I plan to beat you fair and square."

"First time for everything."

She muttered, under her breath, in a teasing way. "Asshole."

"What was that?" he teased back.

"I said _Prepare to have your winning streak broken_."

"Eidetic memory and no hearing problems so I know you didn't say that and, anyway, that statement is just foolish. The odds of you beating me are infinitesimal. "

She rolled her eyes. Emily took her gun and set it on the dresser, within her reach, and then sat across from Spencer at the table.

They played for a while before she rested her chin on her hand, stared him down, during his turn and asked "So, is this a date?"

His eyes jerked up. He coughed. "Date?" He pulled at his collar. "What? This wouldn't be much of a date."

"Oh, I don't know about that. A date is what you make it, really," she flirted with him.

He swallowed hard and his eyes darted to the bed, which made her bite back a smile. Then she ran her hand over his. "Dr. Reid, your time has just about ran out."

They had a timer for each turn.

"Oh, right!" He looked down and made a move.

She smiled widely and said "Checkmate," as she took her turn.

He glared at her. "Hey! That's cheating! You played me."

She threw her head back and laughed. He smiled back at her.

After a moment he asked "So, when are you going to tell Hotch?"

Warily, she asked "Tell Hotch what?"

"That you're being stalked."

She laughed nervously, as she got up from the table and busied herself with opening the mini bar to get a drink. "Why don't you clock out and quit profiling for the day? Its after five, if you haven't noticed."

"I notice everything. I'm a genius. And I've noticed your behavior lately. Its out of character. You're jumpy and you are not the jumpy type. Now me? I'm the jumpy type."

"You do all right for yourself. In this job if you're not looking over your shoulder you either have a death wish or are seriously in denial about what kind of evil lurks out in the world." She cracked open a small bottle of alcohol and drank straight from it. "Want something? There's water, soft drinks, whatever."

"No thanks. Do you know the mark up on items in a mini bar is usually over a thousand percent? Its highway robbery." His eyes lit up. "That term originated before there were, technically, what we think of as highways now. Though there were well traveled main roads. Oddly enough, some of the first highway robbers referred to themselves as gentleman robbers or knights of the roadway, when, if you think about it, that is pretty ironic, right?"

She smirked. "If you say so."

"Because they weren't gentleman at all. They were thieves."

"I get it."

There eyes held for a long moment. She finished the small bottle of booze. The moment quieted. Reid said "Emily, let me help you with whatever is making you look over your shoulder constantly."

She started to unbutton her shirt. "There's one way you can help me."


	5. Chapter 5

**The Zero Hour**

**Reid and Prentiss**

**February 2011**

Note- This is a T rated story that has sex involved but there will be no graphic scenes. Thank you for reading and reviewing.

**Chapter Five**

Spencer had a gut feeling that it was a bad idea to let Emily use sex to avoid answering his questions about if she had a stalker but it was proving extremely hard to listen to his gut when another part of his body wanted to be in full control.

He sat at the table in her hotel room, chess game forgotten, and watched as she stripped off her clothes. As she got down to her panties, her dark eyes teasing him, she said "Its rude to not reciprocate. Don't leave me hanging."

He swallowed hard. "This is definitely against the frat rules. Its written on page eleven, paragraph three: When in the field conducting an investigation..." _Oh, God,_ he thought as she slipped off the panties. _Her body is beyond gorgeous _"team members of the same or opposite sex should not engage in any conduct that would distract from the purpose and intent of the field operation."

"I'm not distracted, not yet at least." Emily sauntered over to Reid.

His hands pressed up and down his thighs, as he wiped sweat on his pants, while she inched ever closer.

XXXXXXXXXX

His dark eyes were locked on her, encouraging her, even as his mouth mumbled something about frat rules. The way his pupils were dilated, his breathing more shallow, his tongue stroking over his lips to wet them, all screamed he was getting turned on.

Her eyes raked down his body- he was way over dressed in a sweater vest, a shirt, and slacks- and then back up to his eyes.

She hadn't quite made it to the table yet when he sprung from his seat and took her into his arms, slamming his mouth down on hers. They started to kiss frantically, desperately, with no finesse as she moved backwards toward the bed and, at the same time, started to rip off his belt.

Emily fell onto the bed and pulled Reid down with her. Reid's hand slid down her body, as he sucked and bit at her neck gently, and right then she felt all the tension in her over Ian Doyle escaping from prison with a vendetta against her fly away and be replaced by excitement over being with this sexy younger guy who made love with a fierce determination to please.

A woman could get used to this.

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He was mesmerized by the way she glowed after sex. Reid figured he was supposed to jump up and leave, like she had left his place the first night they were together, but he was too busy studying her to move a muscle right now.

Emily lay on her back, arm thrown over her eyes, breathing shallowly, her body flushed pink. He was propped on his arm laying on his side next to her. Taking a single finger he ran it from right under her ear, down her jaw, over her throat, between her breasts, over her ribs and then circled her belly button. His stroke was very slow.

He wondered how other people did this kind of stuff and it didn't mess up their lives? How they could casually hook up and then not fall for the person. It seemed impossible to think people really lived that way but he knew, of course, plenty of people did.

Reid was pretty sure he couldn't ever be one of them. Being so intimate with someone just made him feel for her...want to protect her, want to be all she wanted, want the good times to go on and outweigh the bad, want it to last long enough to temper some of his pain and ease some of hers, though it never did.

Being near her like this- smelling her, tasting her, being inside of her, being trusted by her, seeing her at her most vulnerable- it was a recipe for him to fall good and hard for her. Which would sure be a mess if all she wanted was simple, stress relief sex.

Reid kissed Emily's shoulder. She opened her eyes and turned her head, meeting his gaze, holding it for a long moment.

"Roll onto your stomach," she told him.

His eyebrows raised. "Um, why?" he asked, suspiciously.

She smiled lazily at him. "Oh, I'm disappointed. I thought you trust me. Pity. You would have loved what I had in mind."

"Would you like to place a wager on that?"

She chuckled. "Sure, if you're looking to make a sucker's bet. How much would you like to lose to me tonight? Lets not make it cash. You can do my paperwork for a month."

"It would probably take me just one afternoon to finish what you do in a month."

She smiled brightly. "Reid, you are such a jerk sometimes, do you know that?"

"Yeah," he joked before rolling on his stomach. He was shy about his body. He thought he was too tall, too slight, too gawky, too bony, had too many scars and not enough manly hair on his chest. It was one thing when they were having sex and his focus was completely on pleasing her but now was different.

He wondered what Emily thought of his body.

She straddled his back and began to give him a slow, sensual rub down, kissing from his neck down to his thighs between massaging him and caressing his back with her chest. She was right. He did like it. He wouldn't mind doing her paperwork for a month but in that month's time he'd like to get more of these massages.

But he knew it was foolhardy to think he could predict what would go down. Each day on this job taught him that tommorow was not promised anyone and it would more than likely only bring hell to his doorstep if it should come anyway.

XXXXXX

She loved the sounds of his moans. There was just something extra kinky about Dr. Spencer Reid, so staid unless he was quoting statistics or talking about Halloween, letting out sounds of pleasure.

Emily leaned over his back and whispered into his ear. "So hot."

Her fingers walked down his arms and back up again before she rolled off him and onto her side, as he did the same, and they shared a slow, tongue tangling kiss. Every kiss from him made her whole body go on red alert. She hadn't been kissed like he kisses ever. He was firm, strong, dedicated to the act and to making it pleasurable for her most of all. She felt taken care of, something she rarely if ever allowed anyone to do for her.

Slowly they broke the kiss.

"I guess," Reid said "I better go."

"I guess."

"Unless..."

She held her breath.

He finished "You've changed your mind about telling me who's stalking you."

Emily let out the breath she was holding and deflated. "Night."

He slipped from bed, dressed in silence and left. Emily got up and put the latch on the door and then took the gun to put on the night stand before she crawled into the bed again, burrowing beneath the blanket and deeply inhaling the scent of sex and Reid.

She prayed she could sleep tonight without nightmares. Comfort sex with Reid always felt like the perfect escape from her fears but once Reid was gone again all those fears crept back in, and she was left to wonder why she didn't just ask him if they could spend a whole night together.

After asking him for sex twice, why was asking to sleep in his arms so damn hard?


	6. Chapter 6

**The Zero Hour**

**Reid and Prentiss**

**February 2011**

**Chapter Six**

"Pretty boy," Derek teased, as he reached over and tugged at the collar of Spencer's shirt "who have you been letting suck on your neck? Oh, woo wee, little Spencie has a lov-ah! Is it a woman?"

"What?" Spencer scowled at him and pushed his hand away, while they sat at breakfast the next day. They were the only ones at the table so far. They were eating in the hotel restaurant. "That's not what you think. Its from a...uh...vacuum cleaner."

Derek hooted with laughter. "What, kid? Oh, no no no, I ain't buying that!"

"Well, it's the truth. I had an incident when I was trying to learn how to use the accessories. The suction is pretty powerful and it caught my skin and..."

"Save it. Derek Morgan knows a love bite when he sees one."

"Maybe it's a rash."

"Definitely it's a hickey so who is the lucky lady who got to be your second?" Derek grinned at him, eyes shining.

Reid rolled his eyes at Derek's joke and then answered "Who I sleep with is my business and my business alone," he announced, primly, just as Hotch, Seaver and Prentiss came walking over.

Hotch raised an eyebrow and then asked, in a dead pan voice, "What are you now? A vampire?'

Reid blushed and tried to resist the urge to tug his collar up higher.

After Emily sat down she smirked at him "Do you have something you'd like to share with the rest of the class, Reid?"

Derek laughed and slapped his hand on Reid's shoulders. "Come on, you can tell us. We're all family here. You picked up a hooker, didn't you? Oh, my man, you better watch it with those ladies that get paid. They can really be trouble." Derek smiled broadly as he teased his friend.

Rossi joined them, texting as he sat down, "Hookers love Reid, well known fact."

"What?" Reid squeaked. "That was just that one case!"

Derek asked "You aren't gonna tell us who your honey is, are ya?"

Reid shoveled food in his mouth. Derek laughed and Hotch changed the subject to the case.

Later that day, Reid and Emily were riding together when he asked her "Did you think that was funny today at breakfast?"

"Little bit," she teased him.

He smirked at her and raised his eyebrows. "Just remember that payback is a bitch, Prentiss."

"Ohhhh, you scare me!" she teased and laughed.

She was driving. Reid leaned over till he was breathing on her ear and then said "I bet it wouldn't take Morgan ten seconds to notice a hickey right about," he licked her throat and then blew on that spot "here."

She shivered. "Need I remind you that I'm operating a motor vehicle right now and we're on our way to a crime scene."

Reid moved back to his seat, a smile on his lips. "Don't start a game if you can't handle the stakes."

At a red light she stared at him, in that way she was prone to do, till he asked "What?" feeling suddenly self conscious.

"You are quite competitive," she drawled out.

"Only when I like the game," he answered, with a smile, and then she had to drive again and they focused on the case for the rest of that day.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Our sexy boy genius is getting some!" Penelope announced as soon as Emily walked into Penelope's office, once the team was back in Quantico. "My chocolate adonis informs me there was a love mark on Reid's neck this morning." She crinkled her nose. "It would be quite the shame if this woman lives hundreds of miles away. Its not like Reid is exactly great at letting love in. Hey! You don't think it could be our junior cadet who is doing the dirty with our junior g-man?"

"Seaver? Definitely not. She's a child, for heaven's sake!"

"She packs heat. That's hot. Trust me, I hate guns but when Derek is all in protective mode I still get full body shivers. Maybe Reid's the same way. Besides, he's young, too."

"Not that young. Not Seaver young."

"Well then who could it be? I just can't see him randomly hooking up."

"People do random stuff all the time. Anyway, are you ready to get out of here? I'm starving and JJ and Will are probably already at the restaurant waiting on us so-"

Penelope flew out of her seat, hands to her chest, "Emily Prentiss, you naughty girl! You are Reid's secret hook up, aren't you?"

"What? No!"

"You're uber lying through your teeth right now, aren't you?"

Emily gave up the charade. "Okay, fine, I was lying. How did you know?"

Penelope smiled with happiness. "Oh, your face so totally gave you away!"

"And you're not even a profiler. Crap. I wonder if the rest of the team knows too and is just playing it off."

"Forget about what they know and start focusing on what I need to know and that's everything." Penelope pulled Emily into a seat. "You sit down right here and spill every juicy detail to my ever waiting and eager ears. Sex during a case! I've always wanted to try that sometime. I can't believe you got down and dirty with our intrepid boy genius. I always knew that crush you had on him would boil over one of these days."

"It wasn't that big of a crush."

"You told me that you flat out asked him to have your babies."

"I asked him if he was ever going to have babies. I didn't so much as insinuate they would be with me."

"Oh, you so meant that and if Reid wasn't Reid he would have gotten that. Wow, this is uber wild- you and Reid. You broke the frat rules. I didn't think you were the type."

"Frat rules? I can't believe you're bringing that up. The woman who talks about spanking and licking chocolate popsicles while on speaker phone with the whole team and a room full of cops actually remembers that there are frat rules."

Penelope smiled. "I didn't say I wasn't the type to break them. I said I didn't think you were. And stop trying to worm out of giving me details. Is he good? Oh, I can just imagine that he has all this beautiful, hungry pent up sexual energy simmering inside him and when it is unleashed its like Mount Vesuvius blowing!"

Emily paused for a moment. "Pretty much."

Then they both broke into sexy giggles.


	7. Chapter 7

The Zero Hour

Reid and Prentiss

February 2011

Thank you to everyone who is reading and reviewing this. This story will be my longest Reid and Emily fic yet, which isn't too hard to do since I've only wrote really short ones and one shots before now.

Chapter Seven

She didn't realize how much her behavior was hurting him- practically torturing him, truth be told. The woman he was falling for more every day was acting as if she was being stalked and she wouldn't tell him about it, wouldn't let him try to help her, wouldn't lean on anyone.

Emily could be attacked, even killed, and Spencer would blame himself for the rest of his life because he had sat back and let it happen.

They had a long case that kept them in Washington and Emily unraveled more and more during it. She may look strong but it was in the little things that told him her nerves were fraying to the breaking point.

He wanted to reach out and caress her arm, rub her shoulders, hug her tight and make her feel okay for just a second- Reid knew the agony of never feeling okay for days on end- but he wasn't sure he had the right. Because, really, what were they?

Just co-workers, friends and occasional lovers. They had sex a couple more times- she had asked him if she could go home with him on the two occasions they hooked up- but the physical intimacy seemed to only affect his heart and mind, never hers. She wouldn't even spend a whole night at his home.

They would laugh and joke, kiss and screw, even made eggs together once- which somehow felt really intimate to him, maybe because she was only wearing his shirt while they did so- but all of it stayed in its proper place for her. She didn't let it bleed over into work or ever show that she felt anything for him around their friends.

Not that Spencer could say he knew she felt anything for him other than that he satisfied her in bed, and these days she needed that kind of connection with someone. He was there. He was always available to her. He was what she needed.

But what Emily really needed, Spencer felt, was to admit to their boss whatever trouble was weighing on her, so Hotch could mobilize the team to help Prentiss if there was a real threat to her safety. She wasn't the type to irrationally fear danger around every corner with nothing backing it up.

Reid started to physically manifest his worry for Prentiss. He popped Tums like they were candy and his head ached from thinking so much about how to get her to admit she was scared of somebody coming after her. No matter how many times he asked her she never would tell him a thing.

So he stopped asking. And just did what he had to do.

XXXXXXXXX

"Prentiss," Hotch called from just outside his office early one morning.

Emily looked up at her boss- noting the firm, uncompromising tone of his voice-and then she glanced at Derek and then Reid. Derek gave her a blank look, with raised eyebrows, but Reid's look was only a feigned cluelessness.

She hurried to Hotch's office. "Yes?"

"Close the door, please."

A little more than ten minutes later she stormed out of there and headed straight for the doors of the bullpen, forgetting even about her coat in her efforts to get outside and get some fresh air. She was too jumpy for the elevator so she went to take the stairs.

After she went down a couple of flights, she heard feet rapidly descending above her and placed her hand on her gun. There was no way Ian Doyle or anyone associated with him could be inside a secure federal building and yet her flight or fight instincts kicked in anyway- like they did constantly lately. She couldn't even grocery shop without thinking a killer was somewhere in the building or parking lot, laying in wait for her.

"Emily!" Reid called out, as he caught up to her.

She glared at him. "Believe me you don't want to be around me right now."

"You left me very little choice but to go to Hotch with my suspicions."

"You had no right! This is my problem to deal with! Did you ever think maybe I don't want the whole team to be a target just because I am? Did you consider that I am a grown adult woman and you should respect my wishes? Obviously not! You're just like any other man. You think if a woman doesn't do what you want then she must be wrong because you can't possibly be! You, Reid, are an asshole!" She turned and stormed away.

He called after her. "Maybe so but this asshole happens to care about you and you can't ask me to stand by and wait for you to be attacked! So if that's what you expected then you were sadly mistaken about who I am."

She stopped, still looking away from him.

He added, in a more gentle tone, "Whatever it is you're hiding...its not worth your life."

A long moment passed and then she continued down the stairs, leaving him behind. She needed time to cool off and think. As soon as she was outside, in the frigid air, she felt completely exposed. Emily rushed across the street and into the coffee shop, casting one last look over her shoulder to make sure no one was watching her before she entered the building.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

A couple of hours later there was a briefing in the round table room. Hotch worked the controller for the screen where pictures were displayed.

He started to talk about Doyle and the former case that Emily was involved in. How Ian's wife and kid died during a car accident when Ian was fleeing from the authorities. He explained that Ian had escaped prison, already was a suspect in a recent murder in Russia, and was suspected to have traveled to the United States using forged documents to create a false identity.

Hotch said "In 2004, in London, he killed the wife of an officer to send a message to police to back off and let him continue with his activities. While spending time in prison he has sent letters to members of the team that apprehended him taunting that he would kill each and every last one of them and their families. Now that he is on the loose we need to assume he intends to carry through with his threat."

Morgan looked at Prentiss. "Has he made contact with you recently?"

"A letter each week since his release. That makes three now."

Rossi said "We'll need to see those letters. Reid go over them and look for patterns in his speech."

Emily swallowed hard and tried to keep her face from showing any emotion but inside she felt terrible that the team would be in danger because of her. She didn't want any of them to risk their lives to save hers- even if they did that everyday for strangers.

She prayed that her family didn't die in some sick revenge plot. Her parents were stationed in Africa currently. She didn't think Doyle would go there to go after them because most of the agents who worked on his case were in the United States now, mainly in the Washington area working for other government departments.

If Doyle was going anywhere to get his revenge it would be right here. Now that the team had him in their sights it might put a quick end to all this...but at what cost? Emily had never had an unsub with his sights firmly set on her before.

It shook her to her core. She felt helpless, pissed off and worried sick. Just the way Doyle wanted her to feel.


	8. Chapter 8

**Note- Thank you all for reviewing. I'm excited! I started to work on a new Reid/Prentiss mature rated story last night but I have to wait and see if the muse lets me finish it before I start posting. This story (The Zero Hour) is completed on my computer. **

**The Zero Hour**

**Reid and Prentiss**

**February 2011**

**Chapter Eight**

"Hey," Derek said to Emily, when they were alone together after the briefing about Doyle. "When were you planning to clue the team in about this guy?"

"When and if need be. Right now, there's no proof Doyle is even in the States. His letters are postmarked from Canada."

"If he's not around here yet then he's on his way here. You know he's gonna escalate. His letters tell you that. They are our best clue into his thinking right now. We need to see the ones he sent to your other former teammates to see what they reveal too."

"I'll make some calls." She started to walk away.

"Prentiss."

She stiffened and turned back.

Derek said "When you're in trouble, we're all in trouble." His tone was gentle.

"That's the problem," she said, before walking away. She didn't want to cost any of them their lives. She wanted to handle this herself. She always handled everything herself.

Maybe it was time to accept she really didn't have to be so independent and self sufficient. Something about the idea of being vulnerable, appearing weak, a victim the team had to protect made her shut down inside. It triggered something deep in her past...some instinct to not let anyone see her fall apart...and made an internal war within herself.

The only man who saw her show any weakness at all in years had been Spencer. Did he really how meaningful that was to her? How telling.

Did he get how big it was that she went to him and let her wall fall a little bit? But not all the way. She wasn't ready for that yet.

XXXXXXXXX

Reid fumed as he read the threatening letters that Doyle had written Emily. It was while reading and re-reading those letters that Reid came to sense the depths of his growing feelings for her.

It made him see red to know this unsub was out to mess with her mind and ultimately take her life. Never before had Reid wanted to kill anyone with his bare hands but today he did.

Today he wanted Doyle beneath his fingertips. He wanted that man to know that he was dying because he had dared to threaten Emily Prentiss. Dared to try and take her away from this world...from Reid's life.

"Hey, boy genius."

Reid jerked out of his thoughts and looked up at Garcia, as she walked into Rossi's office. Reid was using it to read the letters in solitude. He noticed Garcia was carrying a cup of coffee.

She said "I thought you could use a refill." She passed him the cup.

"Thanks."

"A brick load of sugar, just how you like it." She looked at the letters. "A real sickie, isn't he?"

"He appears to have a narcissistic personality disorder characterisized by a grandiose sense of

self, a serious miscalculation of one's abilities and potential that is often accompanied by fantasies of greatness. In his case he believes the women he was murdering in Russia deserved it and the police interfered with his ridding this world of vermin. He's a cleaner. But now he has changed his M.O. to seek revenge against the people who halted his cleansing rituals. He won't stop till he's arrested, dead or everyone on his hit list has suffered to his satisfaction, either by dying themselves or living with the knowledge that their actions or inactions have caused the death of their loved ones, like Doyle has to live with each day in regards to his wife and children."

"But we're gonna get him before he can hurt our girl, right?"

"She has to let us help her. Why do you think it is that she's resisting involving us? What could she be hiding that is worth her life?"

"Oh, you naive man. It's probably not so deep as a big, bad secret as much as our girl just hates to look weak and in need of help. She's used to being the one who helps people. I remember when I was shot. I knew I needed the team but I didn't want to be seen as a victim. We see those everyday here and there's something demoralizing and uber creepy about becoming the face on the screen yourself."

"But if it saves your life then its necessary."

"Necessary but not easy."

Reid nodded.

XXXXXXXXX

Emily couldn't get a hold of one of the women that used to be on the team with her. Garcia tracked her down living in Boston. But when they spoke to her landlord they found out she had been murdered just days before.

The local police faxed the pictures from the murder. The team gathered in round table room and looked at the photos.

Rossi said "He uses a knife to torture before he kills."

They kept talking about the unsub and growing their profile until Hotch gave them all new assignments to undertake with their research and the meeting ended.

He looked at Emily. "You'll have agents at your apartment until this is over."

"The bureau can't afford that waste of manpower! Besides who knows when this will end? What if I refuse?"

"You can refuse to let them in but they'll be in the hallway in that case." Hotch gave her a stern look and left the room. The rest of the team had already gone, leaving just Reid and Emily.

She groaned. "I hate this!"

"At least you'll be safer now. It has to be hard for you to sleep knowing Doyle wants to hurt you. I know its hard for me to sleep knowing that."

Emily stared at him for a long moment. "I'm sorry I ever dragged you into this, Reid."

"I'm not."

She smiled slightly. "And here I thought you didn't have any game. That was pretty good."

"Game? What game? Are we playing a game?"

She gave him a blank look. "Game, as in men and women who are...you know what? Forget it." She walked away smiling and shaking her head.

Reid smirked a little as he watched her go but his eyes were still laden with concern.


	9. Chapter 9

**The Zero Hour**

**Reid and Prentiss**

**February 2011**

Note- I thought the guy Emily met in the bar at the end of The Thirteenth Step was named "John" but I guess I misheard and his name is Sean McAllister. That is the character that is focused on in the second half of this chapter.

**Chapter Nine**

Emily was restless in her apartment. Hotch had gotten two agents to stand guard at her door every night the team was in town. The fear she had about Doyle was now starting to morph into real anger. She felt trapped because of him.

Too restless to watch TV, read or go online she had decided to work out and maybe after a few hours of that she'd be so exhausted she could actually sleep. After her work out she took a shower and dressed for bed.

Checking her phone, she saw she had missed a call from Reid. Emily smiled slyly. He hadn't ever called her before when they weren't working.

She sat down on her bed and called him back.

"Emily," he said, when he answered. "How are you doing?"

"I wish Hotch wouldn't have forced these guards on me. I know he meant well but it just sucks. If Doyle is really gonna come after me then I wish he would just do it so this can get over with, you know? It feels like a game of cat and mouse at this point and I don't like it one bit."

"Those letters he wrote to you suggest he's devolving at a rapid pace. From the first one to the third his speech became more garbled and his threats more sadistic. This isn't something he can stop on his own. He'll have to be stopped."

"I know that." She sighed. "I'm sick of thinking about it. I'll never sleep tonight at this rate."

After a pause he said "I'm sorry I brought it up then."

"No, Reid, its fine. Its actually," she smiled slightly "nice that you called."

In a surprised tone, he asked "It is?"

She smiled more and dragged out the word as she said "Yes."

Acting as if he couldn't believe it he asked "Really?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

She rolled her eyes. "Will you stop?"

"Stop what?"

"There is a lot about you that works my nerves," she teased, knowing he had been playing her- trying to get her to admit she enjoyed knowing that he wanted to check in on her. It took her the longest time to start to tell when Reid was truly clueless and when he was just faking it. Sometimes she still couldn't.

"Its called jealousy," he joked back.

"Ohhhhhh," she laughed "is that right?"

"You're not the only one."

She laughed again. Emily laid down on her side as she relaxed and kept chatting with Reid. "Okay then. I'm so jealous of your big brain and your skills and your ability to do magic. Sure. You believe that if you need to."

"Just remember that my _skills _actually help you improve your_ skills_."

"Ohhhhh, really? I'll have you know that my _skills_ were honed to perfection years and years ago."

"If that was true then you would be able to best me when we play chess. You might need to look up the word perfection."

She laughed. "Why bother? I'm sure you have it memorized."

"I memorized the whole dictionary when I was five. But you'll never learn if I just go ahead and tell you everything."

"Such a jerk! How do you ever get laid?"

He laughed. "I don't know. You tell me."

"Oh, finally something you don't know. I like you better when you're stumped."

"Don't get used to it."

She smiled, as warmth spread through her. "Mmm, do you know where I'd like to be tonight?"

"Where?"

"Take a guess," she flirted. "I know a genius such as yourself should be able to figure it out pretty easily."

"Oh," he answered, as she could just imagine his cheeks reddening some, and his pupils dilating while he wore a sexy smirk on his lips.

"We got a pretty good thing going, Dr. Reid."

"We do?"

She tensed a little. "Don't we?" Just then her phone indicated she had another call coming in. "Crap. Another call coming in. Hold on, okay?" She took the other call. "Hey."

"Prentiss, I'm sorry to bother you at this hour," Hotch said. "I hope I didn't wake you but we have another body."

"Doyle?"

"It appears that way."

"Who? Who did he get to?"

"I'll explain on scene. Meet the team at," he gave her the address in Washington DC of a restaurant.

Prentiss clicked back over and told Reid before rushing to get dressed to leave.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The team stood in a darkened parking lot, looking over a body that had been stabbed many times.

As her co-workers spoke about what it meant that Doyle now struck in public, instead of at the victim's home, Emily stayed quiet, with her eyes locked on the body of her former colleague. Hotch dispatched them all to different jobs- Reid to go make a geographical profile and Emily to the morgue with Rossi.

She stared at Sean's body on the slab.

Rossi gently told her "You don't have to work this case if its too personal."

She startled back to the moment, knocked out of her thoughts. "I have to do this."

"I know."

They shared a look before getting down to work. Hours later they were all gathered at the BAU again, in the round table room, trying to go over the things they had learned. When the meeting broke up Hotch ordered them all home to get some sleep. They had been working through the night.

As they left the room Hotch said to Emily "By the time you get back to your apartment your security detail will be in place again."

"You know what, that's a waste of resources."

"That's my call."

"I'd rather just stay with someone on the team. Its not like Doyle can get the drop on both of us."

Hotch raised his eyebrow and stared sternly at her. "I'll speak to Morgan, then."

"I was thinking Reid." She quickly started to walk away. "I'll ask him."

"He can barely pass his firearms test."

"Ha, ha," Emily said, dryly, still walking away.

"I'll order four gaurds for his door."

She just shook her head at Hotch. Only he would joke at the strangest times, while usually barely cracking a smile.

As soon as Emily reached Reid's desk, she sat on the edge of it and looked down at him. "Hotch says I gotta stay at your place. Strauss is really kicking up a fuss about wasting resources on agents guarding mine. Is that cool with you?"

He sat back in his chair, raised both eyebrows, gave her what was supposed to be an unfazed look but she could tell his brain was working a mile a minute at the ramifications.

"Sure," he said.

"You sure? I don't want to impose on your bachelor lifestyle, Dr. Reid."

"Me? I haven't had a date in months."

She chuckled softly.

His tender brown eyes held hers, soothing her frayed nerves. Even when she was miserable, scared and grieving the loss of her colleague Reid was able to give her some kind of comfort, and for Emily that meant more than she could say.


	10. Chapter 10

**The Zero Hour**

**Reid and Prentiss**

**February 2011**

Note- Last nights eppy made me fall in love with this pairing ten times more. That was fab and oh so bittersweet.

**Chapter Ten**

As soon as Emily and Reid got back to his place, in the morning after they had worked all night trying to put together clues to lead them to Doyle's whereabouts, Reid went into the kitchen and made himself a sandwich, which he wolfed down as if he was famished.

Emily was too stressed to eat. She leaned against the counter, just watching him, until he told her "I have some reading to do before I head to bed but feel free to make yourself comfortable in the guest room."

"Too wound up to sleep, huh? Me too. I think I'll go try a bath to relax."

He nodded. His eyes stayed on her as she started to leave the kitchen. "I could make you some herbal tea when you're done. Did you know tea is used in China to treat a host of different ailments and maladies? The practice dates back to-"

"You don't need to wait on me hand and foot." She stopped at the door and looked back. "Its bad enough that I invited myself to stay here-"

"Hotch invited you."

That wasn't true but she didn't plan to tell Spencer.

She looked at him as if he wasn't getting it and then went on "Um, yeah, well, my point is, I don't want to be a bother. Thank you for letting me crash in your guest room."

"It's has a memory foam mattress."

"Right," Emily said, in a confused way, while shaking her head. "Right, okay. That will be fine for me." She walked away.

As she soaked in the bath she was tormented with memories of the case involving Doyle, the colleagues of hers that Doyle had killed around, and the moments when she received the letters from him.

She also mulled over the fact that she had been the one to never ask to spend a full night with Reid and now he acted as if he didn't like the idea of just sleeping next to her. The only thing they could do in a bed was screw and that's it, apparently. That didn't bode well for their future and she wondered if she was just foolish to have hoped they would keep this thing going, moving beyond just hooking up.

Leaning her head back, she closed her eyes and tried to relax. Her mind slipped into a sensual fantasy. In it she didn't give the man a face. She was laying on her stomach, nude, on a four poster bed that had white sheets. The man was giving her a sensual massage, using oils, that turned sexual. First his fingers slipped between her legs and then he was thrusting into her. Not until the end of the fantasy, when the man bent and sucked on her throat, as she exploded with her release did she cry out Reid's name.

When she left the bathroom she found Reid in the living room, now stripped of his sweater vest but still wearing a violet business shirt. He was reading what looked like an academic book.

She said "Thanks, seriously, for letting me crash here. This building is pretty secure and you have an alarm so I think the risk is minimal. But I would have been fine on my own at my place. Hotch wasn't going for it though."

"Yeah, I might have stressed to Hotch how we shouldn't take any chances with your safety, after all we've seen and been through, you know."

"What? Reid, tell me you didn't."

He just stared at her.

She shook her head at him. "I didn't want more people put in danger because of me. I probably shouldn't even be here right now. Not if there's a chance it will get you hurt."

"Did you know I qualified at my last test to shoot a machine gun? Morgan dared me that I couldn't but I managed."

She chuckled and smiled. "Well, then, we're covered." She turned to head toward the guest room. "I'm beat so good night, Reid. Don't stay up too late reading. Your eyes could surely use a break by now, don't you think?"

She had almost made it to the bedroom when his voice stopped her.

"You know you are welcome to share my bed, don't you?"

She turned around and arched an eyebrow, staying silent.

Reid nibbled the inside of his cheek before saying "You haven't previously wanted that so I figure you like having your own space, which is understandable. Studies show that some people can't sleep well sharing a bed."

"Are you one of those people?"

He thought about it. "If I'm sharing with Morgan, yeah."

She laughed.

Reid added "Rossi isn't that bad, though."

Emily laughed harder. "I can't wait to tell him that you said that." She turned and walked into his bedroom, and he followed her.

"Don't do that."

"Oh, I'm so doing that. _Rossi isn't that bad in bed_. Hmmmm. What do you men do when you have to bunk up? That is the question."

"That sounds like something Morgan's perverted mind would come up with," he teased her, following her into the bedroom.

She started to undress him, with Reid helping to speed it along.

Emily asked "What's so bad about being perverted? Sometimes perverted is fun. Don't you like fun, Dr. Reid?"

"Depends."

"On what? If magic is involved? Because, I assure you, I know some tricks you'd lik-"

He was down to just his boxers when he picked her up, so her legs went around his waist, and moved quickly back toward the bed. "Depends on who is making me an offer to have fun and what kind of fun they have in mind."

Her back hit the bed. She gasped, as she felt him rubbing his hardness against her panties.

Reid started to kiss her neck. "Prentiss?"

She moaned softly, while he sucked on her skin, "Hmmm?"

"No comeback?"

"Shut up," she joked, and then they got down to business, pushing away the dark images that filled their minds and focusing solely on much needed pleasure.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Reid lay there on his back. Prentiss had just turned on her side, so now she faced away from him. Her skin glistened. He continually found himself thinking, with each passing day, she was more beautiful than the one before.

Since he was unsure how she felt about sharing a bed he didn't try to cuddle close to her. He wanted to respect her boundaries. It hurt some that she turned away from him but he was used to living on his own, fending for himself, and he didn't want to ask her for too much, be too needy.

He figured they would get along best if he gave her what she needed, respected the fact that she wouldn't always do every little thing just the way he wanted or expected and that was fine, and that he didn't jump ahead in his mind. He was not assuming anything- that this would last or not last.

It would only make him feel sick if he let his mind go down that twisty, turning, dark path full of worst case scenarios. So he focused on the here and now- her alabaster skin, sweaty dark hair, the smell of sex in the air.

Emily was trying to get comfortable. She wiggled around before flipping over again. Reid was shocked when she climbed over his body, depositing herself on the other side of him on the large bed.

He looked at her. "Better?"

She wiggled again, fixing the covers on her. "I need to sleep on my left side. I don't know why but I can't fall asleep otherwise. Weird, huh?"

"No weirder than anything else about you."

She smirked and slapped his chest. "Idiot!"

"Actually, it would take three idiots combined to make my IQ."

She rolled her eyes then scooted a little closer to him, slipped her leg over his, and pressed against his side before letting out a happy sigh. "Okay, now, that's better. Are you good?"

He thought about it. "It's a little more comfortable with Rossi."

Emily through her head back and laughed at his joke.

He feigned cluessness. "What? Too honest? I don't know much about relationships. Should I not say stuff like that?"

"That's it. I'm out of here," she joked, pretending she was going to get out of bed.

Reid caught her and they both laughed, before snuggling together and falling asleep. A few hours later she heard a noise, the window rattling, bolted from her sleep, grabbed the gun she had placed on the night stand and pointed it at the window.

Reid jerked awake.

They stared at the window and saw it was just a cat outside on the fire escape. Emily panted, coming down from the adrenaline rush.

Reid eased the gun out of her hand and set it down. She cried "I can't stand this!"

He took her into his arms and murmured "I know."

She clung to him, her body shivering, and didn't let go for long minutes. He eased her back down onto the mattress, pulled the cover over them and they laid there, holding each other tight with her heart beating a mile a minute.


	11. Chapter 11

**The Zero Hour**

**Reid and Prentiss**

**February 2011**

Note- The restaurant mentioned below exists near Chicago. They also have something similar, but differently themed, in Tennessee. But I don't know if they have it in Washington DC or Virginia.

**Chapter Eleven**

Emily took her cell phone and slammed it against the table, after she had just hung it up.

Reid said "Strauss won't be happy if she has to issue you a new one of those."

"Hotch says we can have the rest of the day off. There's no more leads on Doyle right now. UGH!" She let out a curse word as she passed the floor. "I am so sick of this crap!" She grabbed her coat. "I need some air." Emily fled the apartment.

Reid had to slip on his shoes, grab his coat and secure his apartment before he could chase after her so didn't catch up with her till she was outside on the street. "Hey, hold up!"

Her shoulders slumped. "You didn't have to follow me. I have a gun. I can protect myself just fine." She lifted her pants to show on strapped to her ankle.

He rocked on his heels. "I want to take you to dinner."

She smirked a little, her mood completely changing. "Dr. Reid, are you asking me on a date?"

He thought about it. "No."

Emily rolled her eyes and let out a frustrated breath. "Dealing with you can be just so...ugh."

"What?"

"Nothing." She paused and focused on what he had suggested. "Dinner. Your treat. Well how could I turn that down? Where do you have in mind?"

He hailed a cab and told the driver where to take that. They ate dinner at a Medieval themed restaurant where you have to eat with your hands and while you watch a show, knights on horseback josting. Prentiss was a secret nerd so she loved it.

XXXXXXXXX

"So," Derek asked, kicked back in his chair at the office the next morning, "you two are bunking down together, huh?" He looked at Reid and teased "First woman to ever get in your door?"

Reid crankily answered "At least I can remember the name of everyone who I've ever slept with."

Derek chuckled. "Well all the women who have had the pleasure to get with Derek Morgan surely remember my name and that's what counts the most." He looked at Emily "So how it is staying with Reid? Does he quote statistics as he does everything?" Derek laughed at his own joke. "Vacuum while quoting? Make dinner while telling you the history of civilization?"

Emily rubbed her head. She had a slight headache. All night long she had kept waking up from nightmares, and each time she woke up Reid because of her tossing, turning and crying out. Neither of them had gotten much sleep.

"Morgan, kindly shut the hell up, would you?" Emily grabbed her coffee cup and went to the break room.

There she ran into Garcia, who asked "How are you holding up, gum drop?"

"Don't ask. How can someone so psycho be so hard to track down?"

"I ask myself that everyday around this place."

Their pagers went off. Since there was no leads on Doyle, and another agency was working with them to search locally for him, the team was being sent on another case.

Emily groaned when she saw her text message. "Great, just great." As much as she wanted to get away from Washington DC she would feel guilty knowing she was safe while Doyle may attack another of her former colleagues.

When they got to the roundtable room Morgan was complaining "Hotch, man, we can't take a case right now. Tell them to send someone else."

Hotch said "I did tell Strauss that but she insists. Lets get down to this. The quicker we do the quicker we get back. We'll be informed if anything breaks while we're gone and, if so, you," he said to Morgan "and Rossi will fly back to check it out."

Hotch ordered Garcia to travel with them for this case. If Doyle couldn't get to Emily, he might get to whoever was close to her instead and none of them wanted to chance it.

XXXXXXXXXX

They worked their case that day and then broke to go to their hotel rooms. Reid stayed up, looking over the copies of the letters that Doyle had sent Emily and the ones he sent her former teammates.

He read them over and over, looking for clues, until finally he thought he stumbled onto something. He rushed out of his room, over to the one where Morgan and Garcia were sharing (with double beds) and knocked on the door.

After Morgan answered Reid told him that he needed Garcia's help.

He explained that only Emily's first letter, and other first letters to other teammates, were written in a controlled, calm manner of speech. The later ones were rambling thoughts of a man getting deeper and deeper into his obsession and farther from reality.

He went on to tell them that in prison the inmates use codes to put in their letters because the gaurds read all the mail. Reid wanted Garcia to search for known codes used in the Russian prisons. He tried several and then finally figured out that Doyle had made his own code that was similar to a known one.

Taking all the messages he was able to find in the letters Reid uncovered that Doyle had delusions that after he had killed every enemy of his he would then kill the President- the ultimate leader in the United States, and symbol of the people who had destroyed Doyle's family, imprisoned him and stopped his mission of cleansing Russia of filthy women.

Garcia said "This baddie is a certified looney toons."

Morgan said "This is good, kid. If he really does plan to go through with this then he'll want to find a place to stay in downtown Washington. He'll probably try to get near the President at some point. We need to report this threat. He's devolving so fast that he couldn't pull anything off without considerable help but if he shows up at any events they can arrest him." Morgan pulled out his phone and walked a few feet away to call Hotch.

Reid says "This changes my geographical profile. He will want to be as near his final target as possible. I need to re-work my map." Reid got up and headed for the door. "Good night and thanks, Garcia."

"Anything for EP," Garcia said, sweetly.

Spencer Reid felt the same. He'd do anything he could to protect Emily Prentiss. He felt that way about her, and the rest of the team, before he ever started to sleep with her but now, after seeing her so vulnerable, being so intimate with her, laughing and joking and sharing secrets, he felt it with his heart and soul. He might not believe he would be able to make their relationship last a long time (because he didn't let himself believe in good things like that happening to him) but he did believe and know that he would do all he could to keep her safe.

He would not let her down.

XXXXXXXXX

"Wonder why Hotch paired us up?" Emily asked Rossi, as they sat in their hotel room.

Rossi was reading the newspaper at the table. "We need Reid's mind functioning at full capacity right now."

She sputtered. "Hmm, what's that? What does that even mean? You think I would distract Reid?"

Rossi looked at her, with his wise, sage eyes, and chuckled. "Hookers may love Reid but he'd never hire one. That only left two options for who gave him that hickey."

"Not really. He might have hit on a hotel clerk or bartender or something."

"Reid? Hit on?"

"Oh, crap, you're right. That isn't even believable." Emily paused. "So is Hotch mad? About the frat rules?"

Rossi smiled. "You know, now that I think about it, Hotch is just about one of the only people I know who never has broken the frat rules. Don't stress. We all cross that line sooner or later. On this job, more times than not, the only person you are around enough to fall for is your teammates."

"We won't let it affect the team."

"I know." Rossi went back to reading his paper.

Emily was too wound up to sleep. "Hey, I think I'll go down to the gym. I could use to blow off some steam."

"Fine. I'll accompany you."

"No, that's okay."

"I insist."

"Doyle didn't follow us all the way across the country."

"Probably not."

Emily groaned. "I'm not going alone, am I?"

"Afraid not."

"Ugh! Sucks, sucks, sucks!" she muttered, as she went through her go bag looking for her work out clothes. She couldn't stand being babysat. She couldn't wait for this to end.


	12. Chapter 12

**The Zero Hour**

**Reid and Prentiss**

**February 2011**

Note- This story contains violence. Thank you to all of you who have read and reviewed this fic.

**Chapter Twelve**

Rossi and Prentiss walked off the elevator of the hotel, ready to meet the team for breakfast.

Reid asked Emily "Hey, how did you sleep?"

"Don't ask."

He explained to her that he had found a code in the letters the night before, that they had informed Hotch and called back to Quantico with the update, and that Reid had configured his geographical profile for new areas they could search where Doyle may have rented a room.

Reid finished with "By the time we get back he may already be in custody."

"God, I hope so. From your mouth to God's ears."

"God's ears?"

"Its just a saying."

He rambled on about ancient Gods until Derek and Penelope came off the elevator and Derek told him "Its too early for that, kid."

XXXXXXXXXXX

The team solved their case and headed back to Quantico. They were in two SUVs, going from the airstrip to the office, when Hotch got the call that Doyle's apartment had been located, but the local police had not breached it yet. They found it by showing a picture around the neighborhood where Reid said his profile indicated Doyle would most likely be.

They raced to the location and suited up with bullet proof vests. Eventually the SWAT team went in but the apartment was empty. The team went inside and joined in the search of the building.

Rossi said "The stove is still warm. He was just here."

Morgan asked "Do you think he realized he was surrounded?"

Rossi said "He could still be in the building."

While Rossi and Morgan stayed in the apartment to profile what they saw, Emily, Reid and Hotch left the room. Seaver was outside with Garcia.

Reid tried to push down any worry for Prentiss. They were professionals. He couldn't treat her different now because they had started having sex. Still he couldn't seem to stop himself from sticking close to her in that darkened, damp, run down building as they searched from top to bottom for Doyle.

Suddenly they heard screaming from the cops "FREEZE! DROP THAT KNIFE!"

They ran around the corner of the hallway and saw an open apartment door. On the ground there was a wet stain and glass- a bottle had broken. Doyle must have grabbed someone who was coming home with groceries and forced them inside. The fresh stain and glass had alerted police to check out that apartment.

Prentiss took off running for that apartment. Reid spoke without thinking "Prentiss, wait! Don't!"

She ignored him and entered the apartment. He hurried behind her, while speaking into his microphone on his shirt, to tell the rest of the team where they were.

When they were in the apartment they found Doyle had a knife to an elderly woman's neck.

Emily said "Hello, remember me? Sure you do. I killed your wife and kids."

Reid's eyes grew wide and he gulped. He knew what she was doing but he hated it.

Emily walked past the cops, toward Doyle, "I'm gonna put my gun down and you're gonna let her go. This is between me and you. She's nobody. She didn't get your family killed. I did."

Just then the rest of the team came through the door, guns raised.

Doyle looked dirty, disheveled and out of his mind. "Tell your cohorts to leave us alone."

Reid looked at Hotch. Hotch gave him a steady look.

Emily said "Let her go and everyone else will leave. It will be just you and me. We can finish this, together. Like old times. I admit I screwed up when your family died-"

"They didn't just die! They were murdered by capitalist pigs!" He spit on the ground.

"You're right. They were murdered in cold blood," Emily said. "They didn't deserve that. Who can blame you for wanting me dead? I took away everything that matters to you when all you wanted was to make this world a better place...a cleaner place."

"Filthy sluts! They weren't human!"

"No, no, no, they weren't," she said soothingly. "I knew that then but I was ambitious. I did my job and I killed anyone who got in my way. Like your family. I murdered your beautiful wife and kids...so if you want to have it out with me then I get that...but lets get real here...you hurt her and you'll be dead before you hit the ground. The only way you get to be alone with me is if you let her go and take me as your hostage."

"It's a trick. Do you think I'm a moron? Do you take me for a fool?"

"You're in charge here. You tell me what to do and I'll do it. But you have to let her go first."

"Walk toward the bedroom."

Emily slowly made her way there. By now Reid was shaking. He knew how skilled Emily was but this was personal for Doyle and personal for Emily. It wasn't like a normal case. This guy wanted Emily dead. Reid had read his letters and knew the sick things he wanted to do to Emily.

At this moment Reid realized just how wonderful it had been to spend more time with Emily and get to know her in a more intimate way. He believed that all relationships didn't work out in the end, so it was practically useless to try to be in one and if you are then don't expect it to last, but even feeling that way he couldn't just rationalize away his thoughts on losing Emily. He knew he couldn't keep her forever...yet he wasn't prepared to lose her today.

She had made it down the short hallway that led toward the bedroom.

Doyle moved to the front of the hall and walked backwards dragging the woman, who was crying hysterically.

Doyle yelled "Get in the bedroom!"

Emily told him "Let her go first."

In an instant, Doyle let go of the woman, but he turned and shoved Emily into the bedroom and closed the door. The local police got the woman out of the apartment.

Morgan cursed under his breath. The team moved quickly down the hall, not willing to negotiate anymore. Morgan kicked down the door.

They entered the room to find Emily engaged in a hand-to-hand battle with Doyle. His knife lay on the floor. As Doyle heard the others bust inside he reached into his jacket and pulled out a second knife.

"Knife!"

"Drop the knife!

Emily threw herself on the ground. Doyle raised his hand to stab her. Bullets flew at him and he fell in a bloody heap on the ground, landing on Emily. His eyes were open but he was dead.

She pushed him off her as quick as she could and grabbed her second gun out of her ankle holster. She pointed it at him.

The team made it to her.

"He's dead," Hotch said.

Emily was panting, shaking and staring at him. This man who had vowed to kill her. She kept the gun on him. Reid crouched down and put his hand on the gun, lowering it.

He said "Its over."

Emily looked into his eyes for a moment before jumping up and hurrying from the room. She didn't stop till she was outside, breathing fresh air, knowing that there was no one hunting her anymore.

She stood there, covered in blood that was not her own, trying to come to terms with the fact that Doyle had lost. He hadn't made this the last hour of her life.

She had survived the zero hour.


	13. Chapter 13

**The Zero Hour**

**Reid and Prentiss**

**February 2011**

Note- This story contains scenes of a sexual nature but not graphic.

**Chapter Thirteen**

Emily was still running on adrenaline, after facing down Doyle, when the team came out of the apartment building. She pulled Reid aside, down the street so hopefully no one would hear them.

She knew she should wait till later to talk to him about this but she was too revved up at the moment. "What the hell was that?" she spat at him.

He simply stared at her.

"Reid! Don't play dumb! You know what I'm referring to."

He swallowed hard and stared at her some more. He reached out to touch her hand and she pulled it away.

It ticked her off that when they found the apartment Doyle was in Reid had acted like Emily shouldn't go in there.

Prentiss mocked his voice "Don't! Wait!" She poked him in the chest. "Get this straight, you will never stop me from doing my job! I can do this damn job! And if you don't know that then I don't want you having my back going through a door ever again!"

She stormed off.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

After a debriefing and doing their paperwork the team was free to leave the BAU for the night. They were given three days off.

A cold silence lingered between Emily and Reid. She left work without speaking to him and drove home feeling drained. She ate a frozen dinner standing over the sink and then tossed it into the trash violently, feeling unsatisfied with the way things went down today. She hadn't liked putting her life at risk but she knew what she had to do in order to save the hostage. She knew the team had her back.

It pissed her off that Spencer had treated her like a _girl_. The word echoed in her mind like a curse.

"UGH!" she cried, climbing her stairs and starting to undress as she did. She went to take a shower and then went to her bedroom to lay down. She checked her cell for messages and saw a text from JJ that said to call her if Emily wanted to talk.

She called JJ.

"Hi," JJ said

"Is it a bad time?"

"Its fine, Emily. I was hoping you'd call. I heard you had one hell of day, huh?"

Strong, never show weakness Emily Prentiss sniffled as relief hit her full force at the thought that she was no longer being stalked, hunted and marked for death, and also that she had yelled at Spencer and that maybe they proved today they can't work together and now she would have to give him up.

Emily started to tell JJ all about it.

XXXXXXXXXX

On the last day that they had off Spencer sent Emily a text saying that he had to talk to her that day and asking if he could come by her house. They agreed on a time and that evening he stopped by.

She opened the door to see him standing there with an unreadable look on his face. She peered at him, as she is prone to do, but his mood was best described as simply quiet.

She sighed and motioned for him to come inside. After spending countless hours thinking about them her mind was still no clearer. She knew she would hate to lose what they had started, and would feel empty and less for not having him to joke around with and make love to, but she also couldn't forget the way he had freaked out when they went to apprehend Doyle.

They sat on the couch. She had a bunch of take out menus on the coffee table, next to her cell phone. "I'm going to order some dinner. In the mood for anything?"

He looked at the menus and said "Definitely not this," in regards to the Chinese food before telling he how bad MSG is for a person.

"I thought that's a myth."

He gave her a strange, almost worried, look. "The studies aren't conclusive yet but there is much research under way."

"Come on, Reid," she tried to tease, to cut the tension, "live a little. Risk it. Eat the Moo Shoo Pork."

He rambled about Chinese food and China till she covered his mouth with her fingers. He kept talking. She laughed and he chuckled. She scooted closer to him and dropped her voice. "Dr. Reid...if only there was a switch to turn your brain off when its no longer needed."

"If I didn't have a brain," he leaned forward and blew on her neck, making her shiver, "I wouldn't have a memory to remember you like this." His hand went to her thigh and slowly stroked upwards before he lifted it off her. "Or anything else you like."

She gently grabbed his hand and teased "Where are you going? Get over here." Then she smiled widely at him.

He reached up and stroked her hair away from her face. "Emily..."

She titled her head to the side and gazed into his eyes.

His voice got choked up. "Emily," he repeated her name before swallowing hard "I'm sorry that I freaked out that day. I just...I...I'm just not used to caring so much." His voice was breaking "I truly am sorry that I made you feel like you're not competent because I know you are-"

She smashed her mouth against his, intertwined her arms around his neck and kissed him with all the passion she had hidden inside for too long. She finally completely let go. They started to frantically make love. When they went to move upstairs to her bedroom they only made it halfway up the stairs before they joined their bodies together. Each kiss was packed with emotions that neither had let out during their previous encounters.

Reid held her hips so tight that she wondered if they would be bruised in the morning, while she bit his shoulder and collarbone.

Afterwards they were both panting, with him laying over her, his head on her chest, half their clothes on and half off.

The first thing she said, after she came down from her high, was said with a sexy smile on her face. "Where do you get all that energy?"

"Sugar coffee," he answered, calling it what Rossi had dubbed Reid's concoction of sugar with a splash of coffee.

She chuckled. Soon they made it up to her room. They were both smiling and kissing, taking off the rest of their clothes, as they went into the room.

Emily asked "So what do you think?" as she reached out to stroke him.

"About your technique?" he asked, clearly confused.

She shook her head at that and laughed. "No. What do you think about this? Us? Do you want to keep this going for a while?"

He thought about it, closing his eyes as she caressed him. "No," he joked.

"Idiot!" she teased, pushing him back on the bed and crawling on all fours onto the bed herself. "For that you will pay."

He grinned at her. "Hmmm,_ you_ make _me _pay? Unlikely!"

She chuckled and eased up his body. "Oh, buddy, you are writing a check that your ass can't cash."

Their lips were almost touching, with both of them smiling. He asked "You think so?"

"I know so."

"Emily, I should warn you that taking on a genius is never a good idea."

"I'll risk it," and then her lips connected with his. He flipped her on her back and they effortlessly joined their bodies together again.

Emily Prentiss still had more of her life to live and she liked the idea of taking on dating a genius. It was better than she ever had imagined that it could be in all the fantasies she had about him. Fantasies he didn't even know about yet...well, they always had tomorrow to get to that.

THE END

Thank you all for reading and reviewing. Your reviews made this story a joy to post. I used to like this pairing but now I_ love _them.


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